Help Me
by CSI001
Summary: Something happens to Greg out at a scene and he needs help.
1. Shots Fired

**Okay, so again another story has popped into my head! Can't help but write it down, so, I hope you enjoy this story. It's not as dark as my others but if you like that sort of stuff please check out my others :) Please leave a review, and on my other stories if you read them. Enjoy!**

**Set at the beginning of Season 12. I own nothing.**

**Shots Fired**

"You and Nick have a DB out near the desert, here's the address." Greg grabbed the slip of paper from Russell.

Nick walked over to him and clapped him on the shoulder. "Looks like we're going for a bit of a ride."

"A bit of a ride? Nick, this is miles away from anywhere. Do you know how long it will take to get there?" Greg told him incredulously with raised eyebrows.

Nick laughed, "But you get to spend all that time with me, isn't that good?" He asked Greg jokily. "Just think we can listen to my country music all the way there."

Greg stared at Nick shaking his head, and then turned to Russell. "You owe me. And Nick, I'm driving. Which means my car, my music."

Nick was already shaking his head. "No way man, if you drive we'll never make it there!"

"Hey, my driving's fine." Greg defended.

"Yeah right." Nick teased whilst pinching the back of Greg's neck. "I'm driving." He said before walking past Greg and waving to Russell.

Russell was left laughing to himself after Greg had followed Nick out, both arguing about who was driving.

It turned out to be Nick driving. Both men had agreed to flip a coin to settle their decision, and of course Nick had won.

They talked casually until both of their attentions turned to the speeding police cars going past them.

"I bet that's the cop from our scene." Greg said to Nick who was looking out his rear view mirror at the two squad cars that had just flown by.

"Yeah me too." Nick agreed, and then his phone rang.

"Stokes." He said into his hands free.

"Hey Nick it's Brass. The guys I sent to your scene have another place to get to so don't be shocked if they're not there."

"Alright man, we just saw 'em go by. Are you sending some others out or are we on our own?" Nick questioned.

"I've sent some others already; they should get there in about 45 minutes or something."

"Right, thanks for the heads up." Nick told Brass.

"Yeah no worries, I'll see you later."

After saying bye Nick hung up. "Looks like we're on our own for a while. Should be about 45 minutes till our uniforms get here." He told Greg. They'd just arrived at the abandoned looking house which was their scene.

"Well we best hope that we won't need them." Greg said as he jumped out the vehicle.

Nick smiled, "We won't, as long as you got my back, I got yours."

Greg smiled. "You got it."

Nick was working the downstairs and Greg had gone to start upstairs. They'd been at the scene for about 20 minutes so the downstairs was almost done.

Greg saw that everything seemed to be in place on the top floor, and then noticed another building not far away. He also noted that the door was unlatched and moving slightly in the desert wind.

"Hey there's another building at the back of here so I'm gonna' go and check it out." Greg informed Nick as he returned from upstairs.

Nick looked up from where he was dusting for prints. "How far is it from here?"

Greg shrugged, "Err, a few yards. Maybe more."

"Right, do you have your gun on you?" Nick asked.

"Yeah it's in the truck." Greg replied.

Nick shook his head slightly, "Greg man what's the use in it being in there? I thought you'd have known by now to carry it with you, especially when it's just you and another CSI on the scene."

"I don't like them, you know that." Greg told him. And it was true, Nick knew he hated guns; thought there was no reason for them, but at times as Nick knew, a gun was just what you needed.

"Yeah I do know that, but you need to keep it with you when you can, alright?"

Greg nodded, switching his camera into his other hand. "Mm hmm, I'll go get it then go across there." He said to Nick giving him a small smile before he left.

Nick smiled then got back to work.

Once he had gotten his gun, Greg strolled over to the second building. He would have walked faster but the heat was unbearable, even though it was still quite early in the morning. Beads of sweat were collecting on his forehead and above his lip, and his light blue shirt was beginning to cling to his slender body. It also turned out that the building was farther away than he thought; more than a few yards.

Pushing the door open, he could see nothing but dust and sand which had collected over what was probably a number of years.

Looking around he saw a vehicle through the window and made a mental note to check it out in a few minutes. Just as he was about to turn around he felt a sharp, sudden, searing pain in his chest. Just as he was falling backwards he felt the same pain again, but further down his chest.

It didn't register straight away but he saw a dark figure running out the door. It must have been the killer Greg thought. He heard the slam of a car door then the engine roar as he sped off.

Looking down all Greg could see was red. He'd been shot.

As quick as he could, Greg covered both wounds with his hands. Already they were shaking and he realised he needed to get help. Fast.

Without thinking of going for his phone, he reached for his gun. Cocking off the safety off, he shot all six rounds into the air, hoping that Nick would hear.

But just after he fired the last round, the door was swung open and Nick came in with his gun drawn. As soon as he saw Greg he dropped down next to him, holstering his gun.

"Nick help me. Please help me." Greg whispered, his hands had again covered his wounds.

"I will man. Don't worry. You're gonna be fine buddy." Nick said rushed as he began to put pressure on one of Greg's wounds whilst ringing for an ambulance.

Nick dropped his phone to the floor afterwards and applied pressure to the other wound with his now free hand.

"Help's on the way, alright. Stay strong buddy." Nick said trying to sooth his friend.

Greg reached up shakily and held onto Nicks arms. "Please don't leave me. Please..."

"Shh, shh, I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay with you." Nick said in hopes of calming him down.

Greg had begun to shake rather vigorously and instead of sweating from the heat, it was a cold sweat, probably from shock.

"Please help me." He whispered again, his voice growing weaker by the second.

"Hold on buddy, you need to stay with me Greggo and I'll help as much as I can okay."

Greg had been coughing almost choking and just then Nick saw blood spurt out of his mouth.

"Okay bud, get it out." Nick told him softly but assertively. He gently moved Greg's head on its side but quickly returned to applying pressure on his stomach area.

"Just hold on buddy. Hold on."

**Please leave a review if you enjoyed :)**


	2. You Have To Be Okay

**Thank you so, so much for the reviews; ****C.H.W.13****, ****pikapikatchu****, ****Lil Badger 101**** and ****McGeeklover****! They are greatly appreciated so thanks again! I'm glad the first chapter got off so well, so hopefully I'll do you all proud with this next one :) I hope you enjoy reading and please review!**

**You Have To Be Okay**

Surprisingly Greg was still conscious by the time the officers arrived that Brass had sent. Nick had done his best to apply pressure onto both wounds but it was difficult. Greg's shirt was saturated with his own blood, no longer the calming, fresh shade of blue, but a dark crimson.

"Hey, I need help in here!" Nick shouted when he heard the officers pull up.

He heard heavy footsteps rushing his and Greg's way and wished that it was the paramedics.

"Here! I need you to take his vest off for me." Nick told them and immediately both officers bent down to help.

One of them stood up and looked down at Greg. Never had he seen someone look so bad, and that took a lot of doing with the job he did.

"Is the suspect still around?" He asked Nick, whilst pulling out his gun and going to the door.

Nick shook his head, "I wouldn't think so."

And he was right. "It looks like they drove off as fast as they could; tire tracks are around the back of here."

But Nick wasn't really listening, only trying to comfort Greg as he was moved around by the officer trying to take his vest off.

"It's alright man, I'm sorry we gotta' do this." Nick soothed with his hands still pressed against Greg's abdomen.

The officer who had taken off Greg's vest gently lay Greg's head back down, along with his own jacket now under his head.

"You want me to take over one of them?" He asked Nick nodding with his head towards Greg's wounds.

Nick nodded, "Yeah please. You ready?"

Nick moved his right hand where the officer took over applying pressure to Greg's first wound. Greg mounded and flinched slightly with the new, harsher pressure.

"I'm sorry Greg, but it's got to be done."

Nick was surprised that he knew Greg's name, but realised that Greg had a tendency to warm to people easily, like they did to him. He was just such a great guy and Nick couldn't bear the thought of not having him around. After the loss of Warrick, he and Greg seemed to have grown closer. If that was even possible. They were like brothers. Nick was the older one who always teased Greg, the younger one, about what he did, but really he meant no harm. And if anyone were to mess with him they'd pay the price. Nick would make sure of it.

Finally after around five minutes sirens could be heard coming their direction.

"You hear that Greg, the paramedics are gonna' be here in a minute. You're doing great buddy, just a little longer." Nick told him. Although he wasn't really sure Greg could even hear him. Greg had earlier reached up and grabbed Nick around his wrist, smearing blood all along Nick's forearm. But the once tight grip had faded to a limp hand lying near Nick's, and his eyes kept attempting to roll back into his head, but neither Nick nor Greg would allow it.

In the space of five minutes Greg was in the back of an ambulance, hooked up to all sorts of machines, and with Nick sat next to him, gripping onto his hand. Both officers had stayed at the scene and were told by Nick to contact Russell to get some other CSIs out to the scene.

Nick hoped that Greg could manage just a little bit longer.

"Guys, family meeting. I need you in the break room now" Russell told Sara and Catherine.

Both women looked at each other oddly before following Russell.

"Morgan, follow us." Russell said as he walked past the layout room where she was. The same was done with Hodges.

Once in the break room, Russell started talking.

"I don't want anybody interrupting me alright. Just wait until I've finished." All eyes were fixed on him and concern was evident on a few faces, and curiosity was on everybody's.

Taking a big breath, Russell carried on. "Greg and Nick were sent to a scene earlier out in the desert. As of five minutes ago, I was informed that we need to send more of us down there because there's been an incident. The suspect was still at the scene and Greg's been shot."

Gasps filled the room and everybody was frozen ready for Russell to continue.

"Nick's obviously gone with him in the ambulance and I'm going to call him soon."

After assuming he had done talking, Catherine spoke. "Is he okay? Where was he shot?"

This was the part Russell was dreading. "He's... I was told it didn't look good. He was shot in his chest and then further down towards his stomach."

"Wait, he was shot twice?" Sara inquired.

Russell nodded. "In order to help Greg we need to work on the scene to find out who did this to him. Sara, you and I are going to the scene. Catherine, take your kit to the hospital and get whatever you can from Greg, then a statement from Nick. Morgan, I want you to go and find Brass, tell him what's happened and Hodges, this case takes priority, whenever you get any evidence from us it gets done straight away. Got it? Alright, I know this is going to be difficult but we need to stay strong for Greg. So, get to work. If it gets too much, I'll understand if you want to pull off this and work on something else. And if you need to talk, any of you, you've got my number."

Nick was pacing back and forth in the waiting room. Hours he had been there. Four to be precise and Catherine had come and gotten what she could from the surgeons and Nick, then took everything back to the lab. And then she had returned to wait with Nick.

"Are you here for a Mister Sanders either of you?" A doctor asked from the doorway.

"Yeah, we are. How is he?" Nick asked straight away. He couldn't do with waiting any longer.

"He's still alive which is more than I expected if I'm honest is. It's a miracle he's still with us after suffering such extensive injuries and such a huge amount of blood loss. The first bullet lodged itself mere millimetres from his heart, but luckily we were able to remove it without any issues. However the second one went through his left lung and clipped his pelvis. This caused a small amount of internal bleeding but that's now fixed and under control. The hip was damaged also, but that's not something to serious right at this moment. He will probably be asleep for at least a day, and there's not much more we can do until he wakes up."

Catherine did a shaky sigh after hearing this information. Greg must be okay. He had to be.

"When can we go and sit with him?" Nick asked anxiously.

"Now's just fine. But please don't expect too much. He's still not out of the woods yet and there's likely to be complications in the near future."

Nick nodded, "Alright, thanks for what you've done. What room's he in?"

The doctor led both of them to Greg's room. Once they had entered, Catherine's heart broke at the sight before her. She couldn't believe that was their Greg in that bed. It couldn't be. But unfortunately it was.

**Yeah, 2****nd**** chapter :) Please review to tell me what you thought! And don't worry anyone following my other stories, I haven't forgot about them ;) Thanks for reading!**


	3. The Start Of Recovery

**Aww, thank you for the reviews ****Lil Badger 101****, C.H.W.13, ****pikapikatchu**** and ****Tracy79****! As you all know who have written stories, reviews mean a lot, so again thank you :D Here's the third chapter, I appreciate you reading and reviews are always welcome :)**

**The Start Of Recovery**

Nick and Catherine moved to sit besides Greg. He was a ghastly shade of grey, but had rosy pink cheeks; however that was the bit of colour about him. The hospital gown lay covering his two wounds, which were heavily bandaged with gauze, making the gown rise up in two places. His breathing was troubled from his damaged lung, so his chest was bouncing up and down madly as he tried to draw in much needed air. And a mask was covering his nose and mouth to help him.

Greg's face looked sunken in and purple bags hung under his closed eyes. His hair was damp from the sweat coming from his forehead and had stuck down onto his head. Anybody who saw him would think he was dying, and both Catherine and Nick couldn't help but think the same. But they knew he was stronger than that, he would pull through.

"Oh Greggo." Nick said and moved over to grab his left hand like he had in the ambulance.

He sat next to him and sighed. "I'm sorry man. I shoulda' been there."

Catherine sat down in a chair next to him and rubbed Nick's arm. "Nick this wasn't your fault."

Nick looked her in the eye. "How is it not my fault Catherine? I was the only one at the scene."

"Exactly. It's not your job to look after the other CSIs on the scene, it's the cops'. They weren't there Nick and they should have been." Catherine told him strongly.

"It is my job Catherine. I wouldn't want any of you to get hurt like this, you're family." Nick stressed to her.

"I told him I had his back and I didn't."

Catherine shook her head. "Stop right there. Greg won't want you to blame yourself because it's not your fault! As much as we all wished it didn't, things like this happen and sometimes there's nothing we can do to stop them. What we have to do is find who did this to Greg and give them what they deserve."

Nick nodded. "Yeah. Did you get anything useful from the doctors?"

"The bullets. Hopefully they'll tell us what gun was used and I also got Greg's clothes. I can't believe his vest did pretty much nothing." Catherine said sadly.

"I know." Nick agreed.

"Shooter must have been straight in front of him."

Catherine frowned. "But Greg would have seen him."

"Maybe the shooter was behind him then Greg turned around?" Nick suggested.

"Possibly. We'll have to ask Greg when he wakes up." Catherine stated.

Nick sighed; maybe it wasn't a when, but an if.

"Sara, what have you got?" Russell asked as he'd finished processing everything he could where the car was.

Sara stood up from where she was taking pictures. "Blood. A lot of blood. If this is all Greg's, which I'm guessing it is, his chances don't look good."

Russell looked down and knew exactly how she felt. There's was one giant blood pool and he could imagine where Greg was lying. His gun was only a metre away from the pool and Russell looked up to see where the bullets went.

"Catherine said that Nick told her Greg fired all the rounds up there as a cry for help." Sara told him as she followed his gaze up to the top of the wall where six bullet holes were.

Russell nodded. "All six bullets went through there; he didn't even try to get his attacker."

Sara shook her head. "Greg's never liked guns. We had to pressure him into getting one; he wouldn't use one against someone even if his life depended on it."

"Huh." Russell said. He never would have thought it. He just assumed that everyone given the option would want a gun for protection.

"I found a few footprints over here." Sara said snapping Russell out of his trance. "I'd say a size 10 or 11. Looks like a heavy duty boot."

"Great that should help. Anything else?" Russell questioned.

Sara shook her head, "Not really. I couldn't find a weapon, any finger prints, no hair. Nothing."

"Well hopefully Nick found some things in the house which can help us find them."

"Yeah... hopefully."

It had been two days since it happened and Greg still hadn't woken up. Nick or Catherine had always been with him and the rest of the team had been to visit, even the lab rats.

Right now Nick was with him. He and Catherine took it in turns to go home as neither of them wanted to leave Greg's side so they made a compromise. Every time Nick went he settled down to read a book that he'd taken. Who knew how long they'd be there.

Out of the corner of his eye, Nick swore he saw Greg's mouth open slightly under the mask which still covered his face. Putting his book down, he looked closer at Greg's face. After a minute of none movement, Nick thought he must have imagined it so decided to go back to reading.

But just as he picked his book up again, he saw it. Greg's mouth did move and his eyes were starting to flutter. Quickly putting his book which he no longer cared about on the draws beside him, he turned back to Greg and grabbed his hand.

"Greggo?" He asked excitingly.

Greg slowly opened his eyes and for a few moments he remained staring up at the ceiling. Then he gazed to his right to look around. And then feeling a squeeze on his hand he turned his head to the left.

"Hey man. You're at the hospital." Nick said to him smiling.

Greg frowned and looked confused at Nick. He brought his right hand up to his face and pulled the breathing mask to the side. Nick was expecting him to say something but to his surprise Greg just lay there and said nothing.

"You alright? Need anything?"

Greg nodded and after swallowing deeply a few times said, "Can you ask a doctor for some painkillers please?" He asked shakily.

Nick nodded and pressed the call button and only a few seconds later a nurse was there with them.

"Hi, what's the problem?" The young female nurse asked them kindly.

Nick nodded over to Greg, "Could he have some stronger painkillers please."

The nurse looked at the information on the clipboard which was hanging form Greg's bed.

"Okay, looks like you're on some strong ones already Mr Sanders, I'll give you another dose of them and then if you're still in a lot of pain we'll see about getting you something different." The nurse said to Greg and then looked to Nick when Greg didn't say anything.

"Thanks that's great." Nick said to her appreciatively before she went.

Greg spoke when she closed the door.

"It hurts to breathe really bad." He said with a pained face.

Nick felt sorry for him and wished there was more that he could do for him.

"You're lung took a bullet man, I think that might be why."

Greg laughed gently but stopped soon after because it hurt. "Yeah, that'll be it."

Nick smiled. "How bad is it?" He asked Greg, referring to the pain.

"Bad." Greg told him truthfully.

"It's kind of making me feel a bit nauseous." He also admitted.

Nick looked around and grabbed one of the cardboard bowls that were on the drawers.

"Here man take this." He said as he passed it to Greg.

"Thanks." Greg told him as he attempted to push himself up but stopped and swore in pain.

Nick asked him if he wanted any help sitting up but Greg refused and managed to push himself up slightly before vomiting into the bowl.

By the time he had stopped, Greg was exhausted and dropped back into the pillows.

"Get some rest man. I'll see you later, yeah?" Nick said as he got ready to leave.

"Yeah." Greg said and lifted his hand to wave bye to Nick.

Nick waved to him before he left Greg alone. He was sad to see him in so much pain, but glad that he had woken up. This was the start of recovery.

**Boom! Thanks for reading and please leave a review if you liked :)**


	4. Weak

**Hi guys, I'm back! Thank you very much for the reviews ****Marymel****, ****Lil Badger 101**** and ****C.H.W.13****. You're comments really do mean a lot :) I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

**Weak**

"Hey guys. I have some great news." Nick said happily as he strolled into the break room where Russell and Catherine were, sat at the table with case files in front of them.

"Yeah? Is Greg okay?" Catherine asked in anticipation. She wished she could have been with Greg but they were all needed at the lab, and it was no exception for her.

Nick pulled a chair out and sat with them. "Yep, he woke up."

Russell's eyebrows went up involuntary. "Already, that's great! How was he?"

"He was only up for about a minute." Nick told them. "The first thing he did was ask for some painkillers." He added sadly.

"That's not surprising, he'll be in pain for quite a while I think." Russell said to them both, to which they both agreed.

Catherine shook her head. "Can we go and see him soon? There's not much we can work on here."

Russell squinted whilst he was thinking. "We will do, we'll all go together. First I want to know what you found at the house, Nick."

Nick shrugged. "Not too much to be honest with you. I found a few prints which I'm guessing are being processed. I think they mostly belong to the victim though. There was a shoe print I found too, like a boot, it didn't look like it belonged to the John Doe. Other than that there was nothing."

"Right, well then for now let's go and find the others and then go to see Greg." Russell said, rising from his chair.

They all entered Greg's room silently when Nick told them that he was still asleep. One after another, Nick, Russell, Catherine, Morgan and Sara entered Greg's room and stood around his bed. Nick went out and came back with some chairs that were left outside his room. All the CSI's took one with an appreciative smile, or 'thanks'. They all sat talking quietly amongst each other, Catherine had a hold of Greg's hand and they all waited until he woke up.

"Hey." Catherine said to the group when she noticed Greg's eyes were open and he was awake.

"Hey, Greg." She then said and smiled happily.

Greg's mouth twitched in an attempt to smile at everyone.

"How ya' doing Greg?" Russell asked, shaking Greg's ankle covered by the blanket with his hand lightly.

"Not too bad I don't think." He said in a rough voice.

"Really? Cause you look like hell." Morgan said with a smile and everyone laughed including Greg.

"It's not nice to pick on someone in a hospital bed." Greg said to them but looking at Morgan.

Nick laughed. "The truth hurts buddy." Everybody laughed once again.

And so did Greg but he stopped soon after but kept his smile.

"So how's the pain? Nick said it was pretty bad before." Sara said once the laughter had died down.

Greg shuffled up the bed slightly. "Eh, you know. It is how you'd expect it to be." He told them honestly still with a small smile.

"Do you need a doctor to come fix you up?" Russell asked.

Waving his hand, Greg said "No, I can manage a bit longer. I want to know what you have about our case." He said looking at Nick.

Nick smiled. "Dude you're in the hospital, don't talk about work!"

Greg shook his head, "No, I wanna' know what's going on. Are we any closer to finding the killer? Do you need me to give you a description of him?"

"Woah, take it easy for a while, we'll come to you when we need you." Russell told him.

"But I can tell you now." Greg said and sat up more, however grimacing as he did so. "Seriously, go and get a sketch artist."

"Greg, you've been shot. You need to rest for a while." Catherine stressed to him.

"How about I drop by later with a sketch artist after you've slept a bit more?" Morgan suggested.

Greg nodded and looked to Russell for approval.

Huffing Russell said, "Fine. But they're not coming until you've rested for another..." He looked down at his watch. "Three hours."

"Alright." Greg said, happy that he would get his part over and done with by today. He didn't like the thought of his shooter, the killer, still roaming around Vegas.

"So do you guys know when I'll be out of here?" Greg asked, changing the subject.

Everybody looked at him in disbelief. "You only just got in here!" Sara said with a shocked face. "How quick do you think gunshot wounds heal?"

Greg shrugged. "I dunno, but they're not going to heal any quicker in here than they would if I were at home. And I'd be much comfier there, could eat what I want, and wear what I want, do what I want."

"Exactly, you wouldn't sit still. So you'd probably hurt yourself more and then no one's there to help you." Catherine told him, and they all knew it was true.

"I would, I'd go to bed, watch TV. All things where I'd be sitting still." Greg argued, he really hated hospitals, even when he had to go in for a crime scene victim he wanted out as fast as he could.

"G, man, face it you're probably going to be in here for a while yet." Nick said bringing him back to reality.

Greg did a heavy sigh, "But I don't want to be. I'm fed up being in here now and it's been what, a day? I just want to go home get in my own bed and not have doctors coming into me every two minutes."

Catherine rubbed his hand. "We know, but you can't, not just yet."

Greg looked up to her and smiled a bit. There was no way anyone in this room would let him leave hospital this soon and he understood why. If it were one of them, he'd be the same way.

"Since I'm gonna' be in here a bit then, will someone bring me some fries from McDonalds or something? I'm starving and hospital food just doesn't do it for me." He said with a cheeky smile.

"I'll bring you some when I come later." Morgan said to him with a smile.

Greg smiled back, and everyone knew he liked her. It was obvious! Every time they had a case together, his face would shine with happiness. He'd blush whenever anyone said something about the two. So many times he'd thought about making a move, but knowing she was Ecklie's daughter was enough to put him back in his place.

After talking for a while longer, the team had left and Greg had fell asleep. Whilst everyone was there he started to doze off, so they decided that was their cue to leave.

Morgan knocked on Greg's hospital door quietly and walked in.

Greg had woken up not too long ago, and was still slightly groggy. "Hey." He said to Morgan, not moving from his lying down position on his bed.

Morgan smiled. "Hey, have you just woken up?" She asked softly, pulling a chair up next to his bed.

Greg nodded. "Yeah."

"I can tell." She said with a smile.

Greg smiled back. "With skills like that you should be a CSI."

Morgan laughed at him, but was worrying at the same time. He looked worse now than he did just a few hours ago. His skin was extremely pale and clammy; sweat was smothering his forehead, and it was just the same on his neck. His hair was stuck to his head and his eyes looked slightly glazed over.

"Are you feeling okay?" Morgan asked.

"Yeah." Greg said quietly.

Morgan frowned. She knew he was lying, anyone who looked like that couldn't feel okay.

"Really? You look like you could use a doctor, should I go and get you one?" She asked him quickly.

Greg shook his head, but it was so slight Morgan hardly saw it. "No. I don't need one. Think I'm just tired."

Morgan resisted the urge to ignore Greg and go and fetch a doctor anyway. "So you don't want this?" She asked and held up a McDonalds' take away bag.

Greg hadn't even noticed she had brought him anything and forgot he even wanted it in the first place.

"Oh, I'll have it. Is it fries?"

Morgan pulled the moveable table from the end of Greg's bed closer to him and started unloading the contents of the bag onto the table. "Yeah, and a Big Mac and then I brought you a muffin for after too."

"I only want the fries thanks. You have the rest." Greg said to her and began nibbling on one of the fries, not even attempting to sit up more.

"Why don't you want this?" Morgan said as she picked up the burger.

"I'll tell you after we've done eating."

A curious look came upon Morgan's face and she questioned Greg again.

"It will put you off eating it." Greg told her with a smile and a raise of his eyebrows.

She shrugged. "Try me. Why don't you want it?"

Greg looked up to the ceiling. "Because I'm not sure I'd be able to keep it down." He said and looked at her with a face that said 'you satisfied now'.

Morgan laughed. "You think that'd put me off a Big Mac!" She laughed again and then took a huge bite from the burger.

Greg laughed too and then they ate their food in a comfortable silence.

Once she'd finished her burger, Morgan looked at her watch. "Ooh" she said and stood up putting her rubbish in the bin. "The sketch artist should be here in a minute, I'm going to go outside and meet them and then bring them up to you."

Greg just nodded and Morgan left his room.

When she'd gone Greg sat up as much as he could but the pain in his abdomen was unbearable. He was reluctant to let Morgan know how bad it was and how it was making him feel. He really didn't feel like giving a description of the man who caused him so much pain, but knew he was going to anyway. There was no way he was going to let the rest of the team down or let them know how weak he was, well at least how he thought.

His appetite had left him so most of his fries remained, left on the table and he pushed them away in disgust. Just looking at them was making him feel a bit sick again and the smell lingered close by him. Greg took a few deep breaths, both to help with the nausea and the pain which he was suffering from.

"Hey, I'm back. This is Lauren." Morgan said as she came back in the room with a slightly older woman.

Greg smiled tightly at her as he still tried to take some deep breaths.

"Hi, nice to meet you." Lauren said as she reached out to shake Greg's hand.

Painfully, Greg shook her hand and tried to hide his grimace.

"Yeah, you too." He said with a nod of his head.

Morgan indicated for Lauren to sit down. "Are you still up for this Greg?"

Greg nodded. Morgan smiled at him and pulled another chair up so that she was by Lauren and Greg.

Lauren had a fancy electronic device instead of a pencil and pad and Greg tried to explain the best he could what his attacker looked like.

"No, his eyes were closer than that." Greg told her and pointed to where they should be. As he was doing so, Moran noticed that his hands were shaking and not just slightly either. They were shaking quite badly and Greg quickly put his hand back down onto the bed.

After another quarter of an hour they'd finished.

"Yep, that's it. That's him." Greg said with a quiet voice.

"Okay, well I can send this straight to your lab from here." Lauren said as she hit a button and typed something in. "There we go, all done." She said with a smile to Morgan and Greg.

"If you for some reason need me to send it again, I'll have it on file so just contact me." She said and gave Morgan her card which she gratefully took. "I hope you get better soon Greg."

Greg smiled. "Thanks and thanks for doing that, I don't think anyone could have done it better."

"Well thank you, it means a lot to me. Hopefully you won't need me again anytime soon!" She said and left the room with one last wave and smile.

Morgan pulled herself closer to Greg's side.

"Are you alright after that?" She asked him with a bit of concern.

Greg smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Morgan smiled back but it faltered. "Then why are your hands shaking?"

Immediately the smile was gone from Greg's face. "They're not." He said and swallowed nervously. He curled his fingers in an attempt to still them but it didn't help and he prayed that Morgan didn't say anything else.

"Greg..." She started and laughed a bit. "I can see that they are. What's wrong?"

Greg turned his head further away. "They're not alright. Just... Just drop it."

Morgan nodded. "Okay. I'm going to go home then and get some sleep; I think you could use some too."

"Mmh."

She didn't want to leave Greg on a bad note but sensed that Greg just wanted to be left. "Well, I'll probably see you tomorrow then. Get feeling better alright."

Greg turned back to her and smiled. "Cya." But as soon as he'd turned to her, he turned away again.

After the click of the door, Greg pressed the button for a nurse. He couldn't take the pain anymore, all he wanted was to have some painkillers and drift off into unconsciousness. He wished Morgan hadn't noticed his hands shaking. He wished none of this had happened. When a nurse came to fix him up and he started to drop asleep, it was the best feeling he'd had in a while.

But never before had he felt so weak.

**Thanks for reading and please review!**


	5. Breaking Point

**Thanks ****Marymel****, ****Lil Badger 101**** and KG! Love getting reviews! :D Please enjoy this chapter!**

**Breaking Point**

X

"Hey guys, nice to see you all." Russell said as he strolled into the break room; where Catherine, Nick, Morgan and Sara sat. "I hope you're all well rested because we have a lot on our plates today. Sara, me and you are still working on Greg's case, so that means we're taking over his and Nick's case as well. Catherine; a simply B&E for you." He said and handed a slip of paper to her. "Nick, homicide and Morgan you got one too." Russell said and gave them their slips. "See you all later."

Russell and Sara left saying their goodbyes, soon followed by Catherine; which left Nick and Morgan. Just before Nick left though Morgan grabbed his attention.

"Nick!" Morgan said as she stood up, ready to chase after him. Nick spun around with a smile.

"Sup Morgan?" He asked her.

"I might just be being a bit over dramatic, but yesterday Greg wasn't himself and, his hands were shaking." Morgan explained, trying not to sound worried.

Nick sat back down. "He was shot Morgan." He said with a laugh. "I think his hands are okay to be shaking a bit."

Morgan laughed. "Yeah, yeah I know that. But they weren't just shaking a little bit; they were really going for it. Then, when I asked him about it he denied they were shaking all together, then he just didn't talk."

Nick sighed. "Victims hands shake all the time, just like Greg's. He's been through something really traumatic; just think how many people get shot in their lifetime, never mind at Greg's age. It's a horrible thing to have to deal with, I know but I've been in this business a whole lot longer than Greg and know how to deal with it better. He's still young; he just needs a bit of time for now." He explained.

Morgan laughed. "_He's still young_? There's not that much of an age gap between you!"

"I think you'd be surprised." Nick told her with a smile.

"Well, either Greg looks older than he is, or you look younger…" Morgan questioned.

"I'll go with the second one!" Nick said as he got up and punched her lightly in a friendly way on her arm. "Greg's going to be fine. I promise." He said with a wink before going to his scene.

Morgan smiled to herself and then pushed herself up, and headed to her scene.

X

"Knock knock." Greg looked up when someone spoke to him from the door. "Hey man, how's it going?"

"Alright, are you done for the day?" It was the early hours of the morning according to the clock that Catherine had brought Greg so that he knew what time it was.

Nick nodded and pulled up a chair. "Yep, wasn't a bad shift but rather boring since you're not there."

Greg smiled at him. "Believe me if I could be at work right now I would be. I don't know how you managed being in here as much as you have."

Nick smiled back. "I think we're equal on that, we've both had our fair share of hospital visits."

"More than our fair share." Greg corrected. And he was right; both of them had been in and out of the hospital for years between them both with one thing or another.

"Well we need to make sure we don't come back here again anytime soon when you're out."

Greg sighed. "Yeah we do." There was a moment's silences before Greg spoke again. "Can I tell you something?" He asked quietly.

Nick smiled and nodded. "Of course, whatever you want."

"I'm not sure I'm going to go back to work." Greg admitted to Nick. After thinking it over, Greg felt like it was the right thing to do.

To his surprise, Nick didn't look very shocked. In fact, he hardly looked shocked at all. "Okay. I know going through this isn't nice, but are you seriously considering leaving? The chances of it happening again are you know, almost none existent."

Greg thought about it for a moment, but the thought of returning and running the risk made him really cautious.

"Yeah, I am. Call me a wimp, or whatever, but I don't like the thought that this could happen again. I don't wanna go through all this a second time." Greg said, sounding quite stressed.

Nick was concerned; Greg was never like this, not even when he was beaten. "I'd never call you a wimp man; I know where you're coming from."

"But you weren't like this; you just got on with it. Why can't I be the big hunk who can handle anything? I'm just the weak guy who makes a fuss over nothing and can't protect himself." Greg stated sadly and angrily.

Nick shook his head. "G, that's not true. You can't just bounce back after this, you were sho-"

"I know Nick! I know! Just, stop reminding me, I know what happened." Greg interrupted.

"Sorry man. Just stop putting yourself down okay? I won't have it." Nick told him firmly. "Has the doctor said anything else to you today?" He asked, tactfully changing topic.

Greg put his head back on his pillow. "I tried to get out of bed today, but I couldn't and he said one of the bullets caught my pelvis and it's caused some problems." He explained. "Nothing's going right."

He rubbed his face as tears now swelled in his eyes.

"Hey, it won't be long till things are looking up again. I promise." Nick comforted.

"But why can't they now?" Greg asked him desperately, his voice cracking. Tears worked their way down his face and soon enough a waterfall had been created.

Nick sat on the edge of the bed and pulled Greg gently into his chest and wrapped his arm around his back. "I'm sorry Greggo."

Greg sniffed and sobbed quietly. He had no idea why he burst out crying and doing it in front of Nick was not on his agenda for the day. After being consoled by Nick for a good ten minutes, Greg pulled away.

"Sorry." He said embarrassed.

Nick smiled at him. "S'alright man, you gotta' do what you gotta' do."

"Say, do you wanna have me bring some outside food in for you? I know how this hospital crap tastes." Nick offered.

Greg smiled. "Thanks for the offer but I'm not up for eating much right now."

"You sure? You need to bulk yourself back up; you're as scrawny as a skeleton." Nick teased.

"Yeah, I'm sure. And thanks." Greg replied tiredly.

Nick smiled. "Get some rest man. I'll stop by again later."

"You don't have to, I'm sure you have better things to do." Greg said, with his eyes now closed.

Tiredness was growing more powerful and the ability to keep his eyes open was getting weaker.

"No I don't man. See ya later." Nick said, even though he was sure Greg had dropped off. He got up and left Greg alone.

X

**Long time since an update, and I know it's not one of my best chapters, but please review what you think :)**


	6. Well Earned Rest

**Thank you very much for your reviews ****Marymel**** and ****Lil Badger 101****! Thanks for taking the time to tell me what you think :) **

**Well Earned Rest**

Greg was sat up on the edge of the hospital bed when Catherine knocked on the door and came in. "Hey. What are you doing up?" She asked him with a smile. It was nice to see him in a different position.

He smiled back at her. "The doctor's coming to have a look at me, and then I'm going to have my first physiotherapy session."

"Do you want me to stay?" Catherine asked as she went to stand next to him.

Greg shrugged. "It doesn't matter. Don't you have something else to do?"

Catherine shook her head. "Nope, I want to be here and spend some time with you." She told him and held his hand. "It's weird not having you around, you know."

Greg smiled the best he could to her. After his last conversation with Nick, he still hadn't thought about going back to work. Just as he was about to make a joke to change the topic, his doctor came in.

"Hi Greg, how's it going? Ma'am." He said to Greg, and acknowledged Catherine.

"Alright." Greg told him with a smile.

"Good, any more trouble breathing?" The doctor asked Greg, ready to write down his answer.

Greg shook his head. "No, my chest's still tight though." Catherine looked at Greg with no expression on her face. She had no idea that he had trouble breathing; obviously she realised being shot in the lung was going to cause a few issues, but this sounded serious.

"Tighter than yesterday?"

"No, it's a bit less I'd say."

"Okay that's good." Writing the information down, the doctor then looked up. "Right, let's slip your gown off and take a look."

Catherine stepped back as the doctor undid Greg's hospital gown and let it rest on his lap. He peeled off both bandages that covered Greg's two wounds and put them on a tray he had brought in.

"This one looks like it's healing well." He said, indicating to the one that entered lower down his torso, "However, the red inflammation surrounding this one is a little bit of a concern. I think it may be slightly infected."

Greg nodded. "So what does that mean?" He asked cautiously.

"It means we'll have to start you on some more antibiotics and we'll look back at this in a couple of days. The stitches are fine though, so overall I'm happy with how they're healing." He said and a nurse had come in and began placing new bandages over Greg's stitches.

Catherine smiled. "That's great Greg."

Greg looked to her and smiled back. "Yeah. Thanks." He said to his doctor before he left.

"Right Mr Sanders, you're all patched up." The nurse said as she tied his gown around the back of his neck. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes thank you. Catherine, I'll see you later, go and do something useful with your time." He told her with a smile.

"Greg, I came to see you, this is how I want to spend my time, okay? Am I alright to go with you?" She asked the nurse.

"Of course." The nurse, with a name tag with 'Laura' written on it, told her happily. "Hop in, Greg." She said as she put the brakes on the wheelchair in front of her.

Greg gently jumped off the bed and shuffled into the chair waiting for him. He tried his best to get Catherine to leave yet his efforts got him nowhere.

Once they were at the physiotherapy room, the first thing Greg had to do was stand between two bars for as long as he could. For anyone else, it was nothing, pointless. But for someone who was shot, twice for that matter, it seemed like an extremely hard task.

"You alright?" Catherine asked, trying to keep the worry out of her voice. He'd only been stood for about twenty seconds, but had already got sweat beading on his forehead.

He looked up to her and his mouth twitched. "Yep." Was pretty much all he could force out of himself.

A minute had gone by and his arms and legs began to quiver. "I'm done." He said and looked to Laura.

She came up behind him and helped ease him into the wheelchair. "One minute and fourteen seconds. That's good considering being shot twice and having a bullet hit your pelvis." Laura said to him with a smile and a rub on the shoulder.

Greg looked down and shook his head. "Shouldn't I be able to at least stand for a little longer than that?"

Catherine could tell he was disappointed in himself. She couldn't understand how frustrated he must be, but she knew that it would be a long journey until he was fit and well again.

"Mr Sanders, I've seen people with less severe injuries than what you have and they've not even started all of this yet. They're still tucked up in bed resting. So, you're doing great." Laura said to him.

Greg mumbled a 'Mmh' in reply, honestly not believing what she said even though it was true. "You can call me Greg you know."

Laura smiled. It wasn't very often she had patients like Greg, and when she did, it made her job worthwhile. "Well then Greg, you're doing great."

"Are you up for trying again?" She asked after a moments silence.

Catherine watched Greg, trying to figure out if he was ready to do it a second time. He seemed worn out from his first try.

"Err; is there something else I can do instead?" Greg asked, truthfully he didn't know if he was capable of doing it again.

"Sure." They spent about twenty minutes doing various tasks to help strengthen Greg's muscles again, and get him used to moving about. Then, Greg, Laura and Catherine headed back to Greg's room.

X

"You tired after all that hard work?" Catherine asked. Greg was now back in bed and she was sat down beside him.

Greg nodded. "Yeah, a little bit."

Catherine laughed. "Just a little bit?"

"Yeah."

"Whatever you say." She said to him with a smile. Greg smiled back; they both knew he was wiped out.

"What time does your shift start?" Greg asked her.

Looking down at her watch Catherine replied, "Seven. So I have a few more hours yet."

She smiled as she saw Greg's eyes were closed and that he'd drifted off to sleep. Now he was getting some well earned rest.

X

**What did you think? :)**


	7. Stubborn

**A big thank you to ****Marymel**** and ****Lil Badger 101****! Your reviews are so sweet and kind! Here's the next chapter :) x**

**Stubborn**

It had been almost two weeks since Greg had been shot and he was on the mend. The infection hadn't got any worse; in fact his doctor said it was clearing up nicely. Physiotherapy wasn't so much of a struggle anymore, but it was still a challenge. He was able to stand for longer but was still frustrated with himself for not being able to walk more than a few steps.

"Hey man." Nick said as he pulled a chair up next to Greg's hospital bed.

"Hey. What have we got this time?"

Nick had been bringing in different takeaways from various restaurants for the past week, ordering two of everything so he could eat with Greg to make sure he ate something.

"Tacos. Got some chili sauce too if you fancy it?" Nick asked pulling out some sachets.

Greg frowned. "Nah, I don't like that stuff."

"You don't know what you're missing!" Nick said as he took a big bite from his taco.

Greg smiled at him before tucking into his.

About half way through it though, Greg stopped eating and could feel his chest tighten like it did not too long ago.

It was one of the scariest times of his life. Nick had just left after visiting and Greg was all alone. All he was doing was sitting in his bed when suddenly he felt his chest go tight and it rapidly became harder to breath. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't take in any air. He was so scared that he didn't even think to press his call button, just struggled on his own. Luckily, Laura, the nurse, came in and got his doctor. Greg had no idea what happened after that because he passed out. All he knew was he didn't want it to happen again.

But it was.

"You alright, bud?" Nick asked him, wiping his hands on a napkin.

Greg shook his head 'no'.

Nick pressed the cal button. "Can I help in any way?" He asked Greg, not knowing what to do.

"No. This has. Has happened. It's happened before." Greg gasped out, but Nick could hardly tell what he was saying.

A nurse came in and both Nick and Greg recognised it as Laura.

"Let me put this on for you." She said calmly and bought around his head an oxygen mask.

"Try and take deep breaths, I know it's hard but the slower you breathe the better."

Greg rubbed his chest. "Is your chest tight again?" Laura asked and he nodded.

"Okay. Deep breathes." She told him, rubbing his back.

Nick looked on at Greg concerned. He had no idea what was happening.

"What's going on?" Nick asked Laura worriedly.

"Don't worry, I know it looks bad but this is common when people have had a lung injury." She looked down. "If he eats too quickly this can happen." She smiled. "Is it easier now?"

Greg nodded and leaned back. Nick patted him on the arm and gave a warm smile.

Laura took the oxygen mask off. "I just wanna have a listen to your chest, okay?"

She took his gown down to his waist and said "Deep breathe in. And out for me."

"Right, you need to take it easy. I think you might be pushing yourself a little too hard. The only reason you get out of bed today is to use the bathroom, you got that?"

Greg nodded to her. "Got it."

She smiled. "Good, I'm not sure if I'm meant to tell you or not, but your doctor said you can probably leave here in about three days, so don't make him change his mind."

Laura left and Nick smiled. "Finally man, you're gonna' be getting' outta here."

Greg smiled too. "I know, that's the best news I've heard in ages."

Nick laughed. "So, do you wanna stay with me for a while?" Greg shook his head.

"No, it's alright."

"You sure? I mean it's gonna' be rough at least for the first few days if you're on your own."

Greg shook his head again. "I can manage."

Nick pursed his lips together. "Alright then."

X

There he was three days later, at home. Nick had just dropped him off and he slowly made his way up his driveway.

Once at his door, Greg turned and waved to Nick and watched him drive off. Then, he quickly dug around for his keys and unlocked his door. As soon as he got inside he leaned against the back of his door, panting for breath.

It was only a short walk but he was shattered. Luckily he managed to not let Nick see him struggle.

Slowly he made it to his sofa, where he collapsed on it. The hospital had given him two crutches to help him walk and he just let them fall to the floor. With no energy to move, Greg decided to sleep where he was.

X

**4 weeks later**

Greg was slowly walking through the hallway in the lab, still using one crutch. He'd been back for three days now and was just helping around the lab for a while. He was carrying a case file in his left hand, whilst using his crutch in his right.

The case file slipped out of his hand and paper flew out on the floor. As he bent down to pick them up, the bottom of his stomach suddenly had a horrible stabbing pain in it. He dropped his crutch and used his right hand to steady himself on the wall next to him. The pain quickly travelled down his leg and he pressed his hand down to try and rid the pain.

Greg tried to walk into one of the labs to sit down but he couldn't move anywhere. He looked around for someone to help him, and just as he turned around Nick rounded the corner.

"Nick" Greg started but stopped and screwed his face up in pain.

Nick rushed up to him. "What's wrong?" Seeing it was an obvious question, Nick quickly grabbed a chair and brought it up behind Greg.

He sat down heavily. "Argh."

"My leg hurts like crazy, and around here." Greg told Nick, pointing around his pelvis.

"Maybe there's something wrong. I'll call for a paramedic."

Greg shook his head. "No, it's fine. I just need a minute, don't worry."

Nick reluctantly out his phone back in his pocket and stood next to Greg waiting with him.

"It's alright now; I think I can get up." Greg said and pushed himself off the chair.

"Woah, shouldn't you wait for a while?" Nick said as he bent down to help him up.

Greg smiled at him as he passed his crutch. "Thanks. Don't worry, my doctor said this could happen."

"He did?"

"Yeah, so relax." Greg got the paper back from the floor, which again Nick had passed him. "I'll see you later." He said and left Nick standing alone in the corridor.

X

Greg went to the locker room as fast as he could. His doctor had said nothing about that happening like he had told Nick. The pain was still there but it had lessened.

He put his crutch against the bench he was sat on and rubbed his leg and side hard with a scrunched up face.

"Hey, you okay?" Sara asked as she entered the locker room and saw him.

His head shot up to look at her. "Yeah."

She smiled slightly. "You know you're an awful liar."

Greg smiled back, but it soon turned into a frown.

"Are you hurt?" Sara asked with concern as she sat next to him.

He looked to her sadly. "I don't know what I've done. It feels like it's seized up or something." He rubbed his side and leg again. "It really hurts" he told her with a quite laugh as he looked down.

"Okay don't worry, I'll call for a medic." Sara told him.

"Wait." Greg's hand grabbed onto her wrist. "Can you just take me to the hospital?"

"But you're in pain. Can you even walk?" She asked him with concern.

Greg nodded. "Yeah I can. I just don't want to make a big deal out of this." He said.

Sara shook her head. "If there's something wrong though it _is_ a big deal."

"Please Sara; I don't want Nick to know I need help." Greg told her honestly and looked down ashamed.

Her face softened at his words. "Why not, Greg?"

"Because… I just, don't want to disappoint him you know." He stuttered out. "Please Sara, just take me."

Sara sighed sadly. "Greg, I don't want you to hurt yourself more than you have already. I'd not forgive myself if I was to blame for you getting even more hurt."

"I'll go on my own then." Greg argued with her. He knew he could easily change her mind.

"Alright! I'll take you." She stood up and waited for Greg at the door. He was clearly struggling to even stand, but against her better judgment, Sara knew she had to take him to the hospital.

Once he was finally up, Greg smiled and Sara shook her head.

"You're so stubborn."

X

**Sooooo, what did you think? :) x**


	8. The Hospital

**Thanks for the reviews Marymel and Lil Badger 101 :) Here is the next chapter, please enjoy! :) x**

"Hey Greg, what are you doing here?" Laura, the nurse, asked when she saw him sat in a wheelchair near the reception desk at the hospital.

He looked up to her and smiled. "My leg. Something's not right." He told her, trying not to show his worry.

She frowned. "What's wrong?" She asked as she put down her clipboard and glanced at Sara to smile, who was stood behind the wheelchair Greg sat in.

Greg shrugged shakily. "I don't know. I was walking and, I got this sharp pain going down my leg. Then it travelled up to here" Greg told her and pointed to his hip/stomach area, "And when I got here, I could barely get out the car and I couldn't walk in." Greg finished with a wobbly voice and the hint of tears glistening in his eyes as he brought his hand up to his head.

"Hey, don't worry okay? I'm sure it's nothing to worry about." Laura told him and rubbed his shoulder. She looked up to Sara. "Are you being seen to?"

Sara shook her head. "No; it's not an emergency so we have to wait a while."

Laura looked around and then back to them both. "Follow me." She told them quietly.

Sara pushed Greg behind Laura as she found them a free cubicle and went inside, shutting the curtain behind them.

"Right, can you slip your pants off for me? I'm just going to have a look and feel around to see if I can find out what's wrong and causing you the pain." Laura explained.

Greg nodded and Sara spoke up. "Do you want me to go, Greg?" She asked him, thinking he'd want some privacy instead of getting half naked in front of her.

"Err, can you stay?" He asked her with hopeful eyes.

"Sure." Sara replied and smiled at him for support.

It took him a minute, but with the help from Laura and Sara, Greg was soon sat in only his socks and boxers from the waist down on the hospital bed.

"Right, I'm just going to feel around here. Let me know if it hurts." Laura said as she gentle began to put pressure on Greg's leg, starting from his ankles and working her way up.

"It hurts there." Greg told her and grabbed her wrist to stop. She'd reached the top of his thighs and the pain was almost unbearable.

Laura let go and nodded, writing her notes down on a clipboard. "Okay. I'm just going to take a look around your hip." She said and carefully pulled the side of his boxers down.

Sara had stood back throughout the whole thing and was surprised that Greg wanted her to stay, even though he attempted to make no eye contact with her.

"Right, this is quite swollen. There could be an infection underneath here, so I'm going to get a second opinion." Laura told them. "Just let me look at your gunshot wounds."

Greg lifted his shirt up and Laura frowned. "How long has this been discoloured?" She asked him.

Greg looked to Sara and then back to Laura. "I don't know, a couple of weeks." He answered.

Laura looked up to him and let his shirt drop back down. "Why didn't you come in here? You should have let us know."

"I didn't know it was a problem." Greg told her truthfully.

Laura nodded. "Alright. Well if it's just an infection we can clear it up easily enough."

Sara smiled.

"What happens if it's something else?" Greg asked her.

"Well we'll sort that out if we have to." Laura said with a smile. "I'll go and get a doctor to come and take a look." She said before leaving.

X

"Good news, there's nothing to worry about; it's a minor infection." Laura told them with a smile.

"That's great." Sara said and patted Greg's back. Greg looked up to her and smiled.

"However, I do believe you're also putting yourself through too much. You should hardly be walking around."

Sara gently back handed his arm. "Believe me, we've all told him this."

Laura smiled. "Well I'm afraid you're going to have to get around in a wheelchair for the next week, we can't have you walking around on this for a while."

Greg sighed quietly and swallowed.

"I'll go and sort that out for you then." Laura said and smiled tightly before she left.

Sara moved over to sit next to Greg. "That's great right? There's no big problem."

Greg looked up to her and nodded. "Yeah, that's great." He said unenthusiastically.

"What's wrong?" Sara asked him with a frown.

"Nothing, I just don't wanna return to work in a wheelchair. What are people gonna' think?"

Sara shrugged. "I don't know, what does it matter anyway?"

"It just does." Greg stated.

X

The ride back to work was quiet. Sara had insisted she take Greg home but was easily persuaded to go to the lab when Greg told her he would drive their himself.

They got out the car and Greg dropped himself into the wheelchair.

"Hey, what are you doing in this?" Nick asked as he tapped the back of it, coming up behind them.

Greg looked up and smiled. "I needed a sit down." He said nervously, before quickly looking back down.

Nick smiled but could see through Greg's attempt to cover up his true problem. "Right, what time are you off the clock?"

"In an hour and a half. I just have to do some paperwork to close my case." Greg told him, not moving from the car park.

"Right, well I finish then, how about you come over to mine, or I come over to yours? It's been a while since we hung out." Nick offered.

Greg looked to Sara then back to Nick. "Yeah, sure."

Nick smiled. "Alright, talk to you later."

**x**

**Sorry it's short, but review if you have the time! x**


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